


Oh, Mara

by hawkeblocke



Series: The Companion [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/M, Marriage? Who Needs Marriage?, Mentioned: Farkas, slightly nsfw?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-27
Updated: 2013-06-27
Packaged: 2017-12-16 07:34:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/859542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawkeblocke/pseuds/hawkeblocke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a little note on Adiya's backstory that probably won't be mentioned throughout this drabble series in detail.  She was born an Imperial, however she was raised as a Redgaurd, and holds more of their customs and beliefs to heart than if she were raised in Cyrodil.</p></blockquote>





	Oh, Mara

"By the gods, what have I done to you?" The obvious regret in his voice made Adiya rethink her anger as Vilkas' eyes traced the long bruises and welts that covered her stomach and arms. She had decided to wear leather armor while she fashioned her Dragonscale set, tired of the Shrouded Armor that was altogether too tight for its worth. She was unaware that Vilkas was in the mood to train that day.

  
They used blunted training swords, of course, but Vilkas did not seem to know his own strength. Or privacy, for that matter. "What are you doing in my room?" She asked carefully, facing her body away as she slipped on a loose-fitting tunic.

  
Of course Vilkas would not be deterred, he and his twin tended to be rather steadfast, Vilkas uncannily at the most inconvenient of times. "Why didn't you tell me I hurt you?"

  
"Because you didn't. I hardly feel these bruises," she lied. Her whole body was tight and sore. Adiya wanted nothing more than to sink into her bed and sleep, but she feared with the beast blood that that was an impossibility. The wolf made it damn hard to get a good night's sleep. She had taken to painting rings around her eyes to hide the bags under them. She wondered if that was why Vilkas did it.

  
"Liar," when she looked over her shoulder she could see Vilkas' narrowed eyes boring a hole in her back. Gods damn the man, he knew her too well. "I don't want to put the Harbinger into an early grave simply because she is too prideful t-"

  
"Gods be damned, Vilkas, I am the Dragonborn. I've killed a dragon, delved into the deepest of crypts. I have the weight of Skyrim riding on my shoulders, I will not die by taking a few hits from a practice sword." Despite the person who wields it... "I will not be put into an early grave, I promise." Adiya tugged on a pair of pants and turned around to face him. "I need you to take care of Jorrvaskr for a few days, I should not be gone long, I hope."

  
"...you _hope_?"

  
"Yes."

  
"Dammit, Adiya..."

  
"I cannot be certain, but I promise you that if I have to be out longer... I will send word." That seemed to satisfy him, though she knew that Vilkas would rather have her here, surrounded by her Companions.

  
Vilkas relented with a heavy sigh, arms falling limply by his side. The woman was frustrating, but right. He knew she could handle herself, she'd proven that many times over, in fact, it was hard not feeling useless in her company, often taking the brunt of many attacks and coming out nearly unscathed. "When will you be leaving?" He forced himself to ask, not willing to give up conversation but not necessarily sure if there was anything else to say.

  
"In two days, I'll leave in the morning. Will you let me sleep now, please?"

  
Looking down at the floor, Vilkas nodded and turned to leave, until he caught sight of the necklace she was wearing. "An Amulet of Mara?" He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her, sure that she was spoken for. He watched with some amusement as her face turned a shade of red.

  
"What about it?"

  
"I was not aware that you were looking for marriage." Adiya quickly looked down at the floor, as if to hide her face from him. "...are you?"

  
"Not necessarily, no. I was wearing it because I seem to cast Restoration Spells a lot easier." She wouldn't even touch magic when she first came to Skyrim, it had always been something dark and cowardly to the Redguards that raised her. Those were the customs and beliefs that she grew up with, but she had slowly warmed healing herself after battle, and had even learned a spell that allowed her to heal others. She knew wearing the Amulet was get her looks, particularly from the men, but she had been willing to suffer through it for the ease of casting spells. "Why... are you interested?"

  
Vilkas was looking at her, something dark swarming in his eyes. It took all of her willpower to hold his gaze. She didn't know what it was that got her suddenly curious, or why she had even asked. But she realized that she needed to know, lest she or Vilkas got distracted from their duties as Dragonborn and Companions. The way he was looking at her didn't change, not even through narrowed eyes, it was as though he was looking into her very thoughts, and she didn't like it. Vilkas crossed his arms and backed up until he was leaning on the frame of her bedroom door. "You are a beautiful woman. Strong and smart. Any man would be lucky to have you," the grin grew and he chuckled lightly. "If he could handle you, that is."

  
She sat on the edge of her bed, a scowl forming on her face. "That doesn't answer my question, Vilkas. Flattery won't get you anywhere."

  
"I am well aware." He smiled again and reached to close the door, it latched behind him quietly as he stepped inside the room once more. "But that does not mean I won't try. Such is the way with men." He made no attempt to enter her room any further than where he stood. "But let me ask you something. Are _you_ interested? Wearing a necklace like that could be dangerous, and no healing spell cast can fix what would be broken."

  
That gave her pause. "What are you implying?"

  
"I am implying that you still have a tender heart. You've been too busy gallivanting into the sunset, saving the world, helping people. You are blind to their true nature. They would not hesitate to break you and turn you into something broken, like them."

  
"Are you? Broken?" Vilkas smiled at that and took a seat at the table she had had moved into her room. It wasn't a big one, and it was piled with towers of books.

  
"In a way, I suppose I am. We all are, I guess."

  
"Vilkas... I.. can we end this? Now? I truly am tired." He smiled again, something mischievous and playful.

  
"You haven't answered my question. Are you interested, in engagement?"

  
Adiya shrugged helplessly and looked down at her lap. How did this even get brought up? Why didn't she just keep the damned necklace under her shirt? "Not in marriage, no. I am much too busy to think about taking a husband, if one would have me." Slowly, Vilkas rose to his feet and stepped closer to her until he was kneeling at her knees. Adiya watched him carefully, heart racing. Her fists became stiff in her lap and she swallowed, the look that she recognized now as hunger was back. Oh, she wished she could hear what he was thinking as easily as the words that came from his mouth. "I have never thought of what the domestic life would be like." She forced herself to say.

  
Her eyes were glued to her lap and the hands in them, giving her a perfect view of the big, calloused ones that covered them and gave them a light squeeze. Adiya forced her gaze to meet his once more, finding that the hunger was replaced with determination. "I could show you... some of it, at least. I could show you what I can." The woman searched his eyes for any sign of deceit, not really knowing why. Vilkas was, for the most part, an honest man, a good man in his heart, if not a bit more sour than his brother. His face was set hard as stone, jaw clenched with unrelieved tension, the muscles of his neck stood out in rigid definition, all but his eyes.. those ice blue eyes were always so telling. He feared her rejection.

  
He was clean-shaven tonight, she realized. He had bathed recently, and his scent was unobstructed by that of dirt and grime. He smelled masculine and the beast like it. She had taken too long to answer a question she was not aware had been asked, however, and with a resigned sigh Vilkas gave her hands a final squeeze and he straightened. "But, I supposed you are right.. you should sleep." He turned to leave, taking confidant steps that he didn't feel.

  
"Wait.." his hand was poised on the door handle when she spoke up. For a moment she feared that he might just ignore her, but then he was turning around and an odd mixture of relief and apprehension fluttered through her. "Show me."

  
And so he did, striding across the room and claiming her mouth like starved man, guiding her back to the bed and blanketing her body with his own. Eventually his lips left her's to wander over every patch of tanned skin he could reach while his hands roamed, pulling the tunic up across her stomach until he had no choice but to part from her for a brief moment to pull it off completely. Vilkas smiled to himself. He had watched her dress in front of him, and now he was helping her take the thrice damned clothing off.

  
He took his time in exploring this new expanse of flesh, skirting over her breasts with only the lightest brush of his lips and listened to the little sounds she made below him.

  
In the end there was no maidenhead to breach, but the things he made her feel, things so foreign to her it almost seemed she had been a virgin all this time. And when they lay sated, basking in each other's company, hearts slowing in time with one another, Adiya felt more at peace than she had in a very long time.

  
"That was..."

  
"Aye." It didn't matter that she hadn't finished her sentence, it was as though they were sharing the same thought.

  
"We should sleep." Adiya said, after she was sure she was done catching her breath, but Vilkas only smiled and kissed the spot just behind her ear, making her shudder even though she had considered herself quite spent.

  
"There'll be time for that, later." And he was pulling her body on top of his, making it very clear that there would not be sleep, not tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little note on Adiya's backstory that probably won't be mentioned throughout this drabble series in detail. She was born an Imperial, however she was raised as a Redgaurd, and holds more of their customs and beliefs to heart than if she were raised in Cyrodil.


End file.
